KENTUCKY
Global News (Canada)
[with video]
By Elton Hobson
Video Producer
***WARNING: Story contains details of a sexual assault case which may not be suitable for all readers. Discretion is advised.***
A Kentucky church is facing tough questions from the local community after an investigation by a local TV station found that the church employs a convicted sex offender.
Now the pastor of Truth Apostolic Church in Madisonville is defending his decision to hire the man – but his comments, specifically those suggesting that the woman the man was convicted of sexually assaulting bore some responsibility for the attack, are coming under fire.
The story came to light when NBC affiliate WFIE received several anonymous tips that a convicted sex offender was working at the local church.
Their investigation revealed that Thomas Hopper, working with the church’s outreach ministry staff, was convicted of rape and sodomy in the early 1990s. According to court documents, the victim, a 13-year-old girl, said Hopper held a razor blade to her throat before he sexually assaulted her.
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